Trak Global Group has been ranked in the top 50 fastest growing privately-owned UK technology companies in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100, which will be published this weekend.

The telematics and young driver insurance provider, based in Crewe and founded in 2009, is 49th and appears in the table for the first time.

Chief executive Nick Corrie said the ranking was achieved thanks to a 75% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during the last three years, during which time the business has extended its relationship with insurers such as More Th>n Sm>rt Wheels, and won contracts to manage young driver insurance propositions with VWFS, Fiat and Mercedes.

During the last twelve months the company, which sells insurance through the Carrot young driver brand, has also launched Better Driver, the UK’s first mass-market, full underwriting-based motor insurance product built around a unique smartphone app, and Appy Fleet, a similar app-based telematics product specially designed for smaller fleets.

Corrie explained that the app technology, developed in-house, turns the customer’s smartphone into a telematics box automatically and without any customer intervention, while they are driving, and gathers exactly the same driving data on speeding, cornering and acceleration as a box. The phone can still be used at the same time for making calls, streaming music or using other apps such as for navigation.

Data and battery usage is very low, and the app is activated via bluetooth connection already built into the vehicle or supplied via a bluetooth beacon fixed to the windscreen.

Corrie said Appy Fleet and Better Driver hugely increases the size of the addressable market for telematics, which to date has been confined to young drivers, where premiums are much higher than average.

“Thanks to telematics, a large number of new factors, such as smoothness of driving, speed limit infringements, road type usage, time of day, mileage and road familiarity, enables insurers to see behaviours which very strongly correlate to risk.

He added: “Better Driver and Appy Fleet technology acts on these factors in a way that helps our insurer partners protect and enhance their underwriting profit. The forensic scoring analysis delivered by our technology will underpin our plans to attack the mass market.”

Corrie explained that the mass motor market for telematics is the big prize, in both the UK and abroad. “We are selling more young driver policies through our Carrot brand or via our insurance partners than ever before but capturing the mass market via telematics-based insurance is our priority for the next phase.”

“We are delighted to be recognised as one of the UK’s top 50 technology companies, after four years in which the combined business, Trak Global and Carrot, has grown eightfold. We intend to build on this achievement and become a £100m business during the next few years.”